For this ambitious liquid time capsule, we used ingredients and traditions plucked from Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Ta Henket is brewed with an ancient form of wheat and loaves of hearth-baked bread, and it's flavored with chamomile, dom-palm fruit and Middle Eastern herbs. To ferment this earthy ancient ale, Sam and friends traveled to Cairo, set out baited petri dishes and captured a native Egyptian saccharomyces yeast strain.

I like this beer--quite a bit, actually. But it's not your average beer.

I love the whole Ancient Ales line from Dogfish Head because I'm really interested in ancient cuisines.

This one is strange. it's thin and herbal. It's like an alcohol-infused carbonated tea with a turmeric-like spice suspended in it. It's not quite a beer which I like very much--but I also definitely knew what I was getting myself into when I picked up this bottle. I was expecting something a little chalky, a little herbal, and quite funky. I will remember it well but won't drink it more than once every couple of years I think.

Ta Henket opens with a bready, fruity nose, smelling of baking wheat bread, French baguettes, and buttered toast, along with a spicy fruit selection, reminiscent of raisin bread, peppered figs, and an earthy baking aroma that reminds me strangely of rosemary rotisserie chicken breast (which I intend not as negative criticism). Never having smelled Za'atar or Doum Fruit, I'm assuming this latter strange aroma comes from one of those ingredients. The chamomile does lend touches of sweetness, but is largely subsumed. Overall, the nose is certainly intriguing, containing aromas that I've never encountered in another beer, much less any mass-marketed beverage. I can't say it's exactly enticing or mouthwatering, but it certainly demands attention.

On the tongue, the beer is spicy and peppery, the buttered toast and rosemary rotisserie chicken breast (for lack of a better description) coming across strongly. I imagine this is what a strong chamomile and fresh-picked herbs tea would taste like if let sit in earthenware bowls for a while. Notes of hay and plant stems add more earthy flavors, and touches of rose petal and wildflower honey sweetness help offset the plant flavors. There's also a buttery, floury, banana peel tangy, funky flavor around the edges. The aftertaste is a continuation of the main flavors, most of them fading with relative quickness, but leaving the buttered toast and chamomile flavors on the tongue for a fairly long time. Mouthfeel is medium-light, and carbonation is medium-light to medium.

Overall, it's difficult to find a way to objectively rate this as a beer, since it bears very little resemblance to anything else on the market. The beverage is certainly palatable and delicious on some levels, and if not told this was a beer--if, say, I were in Egypt and told this was a locally-made and traditional alcoholic beverage--I would think it excellent. The buttered toast and chamomile flavors are a bit strong (and I admittedly am not a fan of chamomile tea), but there are enough funky sugar flavors to bring me back for another mouthful. Definitely worth trying, even if only for the experience.

A: Burnished gold/orange with a thin fizzy white head. The head disappears quickly leaving a thin island of white bubbles.

S: The fruity aroma from the Doum fruit ( I have never had a Doum fruit, so I am assuming this is the cause of the fruity aroma), is very noticeable followed by a slight hint of chamomile. Some crusty, slight burnt, bread is present.

T: A very interesting flavor; the bread mixes with slight sweetness from fruit followed by a spice from the chamomile. The finish is sweet with some crusty bread.

M: Light and a bit watery.

O: I cannot not help myself; I always tend to buy the "liquid time capsule" beers by Dogfish. I must admit: the interesting ingredients always grab me (thought most of the past beers end up sweet). Now that I have admitted my bias, I must also admit that this beer is not as successful as I wanted it to be.

The flavor is truly interesting. There is an exotic twist that is delivered mostly through the chamomile, though the fruit and special wheat do make a difference. The mouthfeel, however, was not as successful. It is fine that the beer had a light mouthfeel, but the watery nature to the finish distracts from the interesting flavor. Overall, this beer is worth trying, but it is not a "hoard" beer (a beer so good you buy as much of it as you can when you can). If they brewed it again, I would like to see a bit more heft in the body.

A- This beer pours a hint of hazy to the orange body with a fizzy white head that boils away and a sea of microbubbles remain.

S- The field corn aroma with some tart sumac seed aromas give way to a light earthy grain aroma and a hint of graham and sesame seed in the finish.

T- The fruity flavors have a slight nectarine note with a cherry quality from the doum fruit and a touch of sumac tartness in the finish. There is a clean crisp fizz in the finish. The mellow fruity tartness grows but is never really strong and a whole grain wheat hint comes through under the fruit aswell.

M- The light mouthfeel has an airy quality to it with no alcohol heat and no astringency noticed.

O- This is a well-blended crisp beer that has a touch of sweetness and lots of very interesting flavors. It was fun to try but it was a bit to much for such a big bottle. I just got a little tired of drinking it. Perhaps with the heat of the Sahara it might fit the bill.